Superbroad Component in Emission Lines of SS 433

We have detected new components in stationary emission lines of SS 433; these are the superbroad components that are low-contrast substrates with a width of 2000--2500 km s-1 in He I $\lambda4922$ and H$\beta$ and 4000--5000 km s-1 in He II $\lambda4686$. Based on 44 spectra taken during four years of observations from 2003 to 2007, we have found that these components in the He II and He I lines are eclipsed by the donor star; their behavior with precessional and orbital phases is regular and similar to the behavior of the optical brightness of SS 433. The same component in H$\beta$ shows neither eclipses nor precessional variability. We conclude that the superbroad components in the helium and hydrogen lines are different in origin. Electron scattering is shown to reproduce well the superbroad component of H$\beta$ at a gas temperature of 20--35 kK and an optical depth for Thomson scattering $\tau \approx$ 0.25--0.35. The superbroad components of the helium lines are probably formed in the wind from the supercritical accretion disk. We have computed a wind model based on the concept of Shakura-Sunyaev supercritical disk accretion. The main patterns of the He II line profiles are well reproduced in this model: not only the appearance of the superbroad component but also the evolution of the central two-component part of the profile of this line during its eclipse by the donor star can be explained.Comment: 17 pages, 13 figures, 2 tables, published in Astronomy Letters, 2013, vol. 39, N 12, pp. 826 - 84

COVID-19 pandemic as a socio-psychological influence on transformations in religion

This article aims to establish COVID-19’s sociopsychological influence on religion. This interdisciplinary study’s theoretical framework embraces the socialecological systems framework, the concept of deprivation, the theory of religious myth-making, religious individualism and bricolage, as well as the concept of quality of life. A sociological survey was conducted of 4,700 residents of Moscow and the Moscow region. The results revealed that the social sphere of society was relatively stable duringthe pandemic. Exploring COVID-19’s socio-psychological influence, this study examines transformations in religion that resulted from tactile deprivation.&nbsp

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF TOOLS FOR ESTIMATION OF INVESTMENT CLIMATE OF TERRITORIES

Purpose: The present paper is a study of the most well-known foreign and domestic methods for assessing the investment climate of the regions as well as identifying their main disadvantages. Methodology: The study of regional investment issues should be based on a systematic approach taking into account the positive and negative aspects of each methodology separately. Result: Opportunities to improve the competitiveness of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation are considered, too. The existing methods applied by various research-rating agencies are considered in detail. Applications: This research can be used for the universities, teachers and education students. Novelty/Originality: In this research, the model of comparative analysis of tools for estimation of the investment climate of territories is presented in a comprehensive and complete manner

Optical observations of "hot" novae returning to quiescence

We have monitored the return to quiescence of novae previously observed in outburst as supersoft X-ray sources, with optical photometry of the intermediate polar (IP) V4743 Sgr and candidate IP V2491 Cyg, and optical spectroscopy of these two and seven other systems. Our sample includes classical and recurrent novae, short period (few hours), intermediate period (1-2 days) and long period (symbiotic) binaries. The light curves of V4743 Sgr and V2491 Cyg present clear periodic modulations. For V4743 Sgr, the modulation occurs with the beat of the rotational and orbital periods. If the period measured for V2491 Cyg is also the beat of these two periods, the orbital one should be almost 17 hours. The recurrent nova T Pyx already shows fragmentation of the nebular shell less than 3 years after the outburst. While this nova still had strong [OIII] at this post-outburst epoch, these lines had already faded after 3 to 7 years in all the others. We did not find any difference in the ratio of equivalent widths of high ionization/excitation lines to that of the Hbeta line in novae with short and long orbital period, indicating that irradiation does not trigger high mass transfer rate from secondaries with small orbital separation. An important difference between the spectra of RS Oph and V3890 Sgr and those of many symbiotic persistent supersoft sources is the absence of forbidden coronal lines. With the X-rays turn-off, we interpret this as an indication that mass transfer in symbiotics recurrent novae is intermittent.Comment: In press in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Societ